Wrench.



No. 866,295. PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907.

' A s. MORGAN.

WRENCH. I APPLICATION FILED APR. 24. 1901.

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No. 866,295. I 'IPATBNTED SEPT. 17, 1907.

A. s. MORGAN.

WRENCH.

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ARTHURS. MORGAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

WRENCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed April 24, 1907. Serial No. 369,951.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR S. MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis City, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to wrenches and more particularly to that class including a sliding jaw adapted to be moved by the rotation of a worm nut which meshes with one edge of the wrench shank which is of rack formation and the primary object of the invention is to provide a wrench of this class in which the worm nut is so mounted that it may be swung out of mesh with the said rack edge of the shank of the wrench.

The wrench may be briefly described as comprising a shank having a rack edge and a fixed jaw at one end, a movable jaw mounted upon the shank, a block pivoted between cheek pieces upon slidable jaw, a worm nut rotatably carried by the block and normally in mesh with the rack edge of the shank of the wrench and a spring adapted to hold the nut in such engagement. The spring is of course positioned at the opposite side of the pivotal point of the block to that at which the nut is located and it will be understood that the block may be swung upon its pivot and against the tension of the spring to move the nut out of mesh with the said rack.

One of the novel features of my invention resides in the fact that the block is provided with a beveled face which limits the movement of the block upon its pivot.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side view of the wrench, Fig. 2 is an edge view thereof, Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view therethrough, Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the worm nut out of mesh with the rack, and, Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the pivoted block upon which the worm nut is mounted.

As shown in the drawings the wrench comprises a shank 7 which is provided at one of its ends with a fixed integral jaw 8 and at its opposite end with a handle 9 either of which may be of the ordinary construction. One edge of the wrench shank 7 is of rack formation as indicated by the numeral 10 and slidably mounted upon the said shank is a jaw 11 it being understood that the said jaw is to be adjusted to and from the jaw 8. y

The jaw 11 has formed integral therewith cheek pieces 12 which are located in spaced parallel relation with respect to each other and between which is pivotally received a block 13 which block has projecting from its rear end a reduced cylindrical stem portion 14 and beyond this portion a threaded stud 15. R0- tatably engaged upon the stem portion 14 is a worm nut 16 which is of the usual construction and which normally meshes with the rack edge 10 of the shank 7, there being a nut 17 engaged upon the threaded stud 15 to hold the said worm nut in place, the rear end of the worm nut being recessed as at 18 to receive the nut 17 in flush relation. The forward end of the block 13 is recessed as at 19 and in the recess is seated a helical spring 20 which bears against that portion of the jaw 11. which lies between the cheek pieces 12 and serves in this manner to normally hold the worm nut 16 in mesh with the rack edge of the shank 7 it being understood of course that this nut may be grasped and swung away from the said edge of the shank and out of mesh with the said rack edge of the shank, this movement of course being against the tension of the spring 20. In order to limit the swinging movement of the block 13 the upper face of the block is beveled as at 21 so that as soon as the worm nut is out of mesh with the rack edge of the shank, the block will be prevented from swinging further by reason of the fact that the beveled portion of the upper face of the block will abut that portion of the jaw 11 which lies between the cheek pieces as clearly shown in the drawings. It will thus be seen that unnecessary compression of the helical spring 20 is prevented and that hence the life of the wrench is prolonged.

What is claimed is A wrench oi the class described comprising a shank having a rack edge, a fixed jaw at one end of the shank, a handle at the other end of the shank, a jaw slidably mounted upon the shank, integral spaced parallel oppositely disposed cheek pieces formed integral with the slidable jaw, a block pivoted substantially at its middle between the cheek pieces, a reduced cylindrical stein portion formed integral with one end of the block and projecting beyond the rear edge of the jaw upon which the block is mounted, a threaded stud formed at the end of the stem, a worm nut rotatably engaged upon the stem, a nut engaged upon the threaded stud and adapted to hold the worm nut upon the stem, the worm nut being recessed for the flush reception of the holding nut, the forward end of the block being recessed, and a helical spring disposed between the cheek pieces and within the recess in the block and bearing against that portion of the jaw which lies intermediate the cheek pieces, the upper face of the block at its forward end being beveled to abut the last mentioned portion of the slidable jaw when the block is swung to bring the worm nut out of mesh with the rack whereby the movement of the block and the compression of spring will be limited.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

ARTHUR S. MORGAN.

Witnesses:

T. Fnos'r, W. N. Turns. 

